No Line Input selection on MBP 11,1 Retina

I'm out for 30 minutes. Something happened here.

Sorry for the interruption.

Csound1, question about you're response to me when I described my hookup to your audio interface device;

You said "No. Stereo audio line in (which may be 2 xRCA, 2 x 1/4" or 1 x 3.5mm) to USB out (to plug into the computer)."

I'm a little confused with your description. Doesn't the device have the USB out to plug into the computer? Don't I plug the audio cable from the cassette player to the device and the device plugs into the computer via USB?

Oh, ok, I thought you were describing a different connection and that's what threw me. Sorry about that.

So, let's do try that again.

Her cassette player, a Sony CFD S350, only has a 3.5mm headphone jack that can be used to get audio from her cassette tapes. I will plug in an audio cable with a 3.5 mm plug to the player and 2xRCA plugs on the other end to plug into the Input connections of the audio interface you suggested. Then I plug that device's USB connector into the MBP USB port and I should be good to go.

Hopefully, I have that right, but I just want to make sure.

Yay!!! Finally. Than you!

Please understand that you may think I can follow your short hand and technical phrasing but since I don't speak your (technical) language I have to make sure of what you're saying by asking questions.

Thanks for being patient and helping.

I know you don't think cabakroll's idea will work but since the part is on it's way I'm going to give it a shot. At least I now feel like I have something that will work.

I will report back here what happens.

Thanks Csound1. Makes sense, but the ad I'm reading states "Output: 3.5 mm Stereo Headset and Microphone Jack". That sounds like a slightly incorrect description to me. The stereo headset would be an output, I follow that. But the microphone would be an input, right?. Her MBP has a similar jack on the side with a headphone symbol, right? It is my understanding that this jack accepts the iPhone headset that has a headphone AND a microphone, so that port provides an output AND an input. It sounds to me like this device provides the same function for those who have a separate headphone and microphone and need two separate jacks.

I have an idea that the headphone output on the cassette player is a much different signal than a microphone signal so it will be interesting to see how this device handles that. I'm not sure why the jack on the side of the MBP doesn't accept the player's headphone signal other than the fact that, as you say, there is not a circuit for this type signal. Maybe that port only works for applications, like Skype, that can access the input function of the iPhone headphones/microphone. Maybe this device's internal circuit will accept the headphone signal and provide at least some signal as an input to the Mac. That's lot of maybe's isn't it?

There's only one way to find out.

I hear you. As I have said many times before this device is on its way so we will try it. If and when it does not work we will buy the Behringer device...and thank you for suggesting it.

Are you married??? Don't answer that

So the lady has returned from an extended vacation and we finally tried the USB audio adapter that cabakroll suggested. It works great! I would not have guessed that a headphone out on a cassette player would play without distortion into a mic input but it does, and quite well I might add.

I recorded a clip in QuickTime and also in Audacity. Both sounded just like the cassette tape. Not the best quality with a lot of background noise but we knew that we would not need a hi-fidelity recording. The audio waveform in Audacity shows no clipping so it looks like it is doing the job.

Thanks to both of you for the help. I learned a lot.